The Otter Returns to Western New York

Scientists at Rochester Institute of Technology and researchers at the Seneca Park Zoo will release their report on efforts to track the return of the North American River Otter to western New York. The unique event will include interaction with the zoo’s otter population and will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 6.

David Hamilton, general curator at the zoo, and Lei Lani Stelle, professor of biological sciences at RIT, will discuss the project and its impact on the environment of the region. Several otters will also be available for “interviews” as well.

The New York River Otter Project reintroduced 279 otters from the Adirondack and Catskill mountains to 15 sites, including local creeks. The relocation was completed by 2000. Otters, which once lived naturally in this area, were wiped out about 100 years ago due to water pollution, habitat loss, hunting and trapping.